Tag Archives: EPA

Acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler is expected to visit the Iowa State Fair. Few details regarding scheduling are available, but Wheeler’s visit is in response to a request by Iowa’s congressional delegation.

The letter, sent in July, asked Wheeler to travel to Iowa to learn more about ethanol and biodiesel, as Iowa leads the nation in production of the two. The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and others are likely to push Wheeler to restore renewable fuel demand lost through hardship waivers.

The waivers were granted by former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt to a substantially increased number of refiners, a move the ethanol industry contends is costing demand and undermining the Renewable Fuel Standard volume requirements.

WASHINGTON D.C.- The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the biofuels pathway for Grain Sorghum Oil. Congressman Marshall has been a vocal advocate for the pathway during the EPA’s approval process, having led a bipartisan letter to the EPA requesting that the agency not only approve a sorghum pathway but expedite the process.

“Today’s announcement is a big win for our producers back home,” Rep. Marshall said. “Kansas is the top sorghum producing state in the country; I am thankful that the EPA approved the long-awaited biofuels pathway.”

With this authorization from Acting EPA Administrator Wheeler, sorghum and ethanol producers will have an additional market for sorghum oil, a co-product of ethanol.

“This pathway is crucial to not only our sorghum producers, but also our biofuels plants, and our rural economy,” Rep. Marshall said. “Farmers can use all the relief they can get in the midst of growing uncertainty in global markets. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this pathway will have in the Kansas First District.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army (Army) are issuing a supplemental proposal to the July 2017 proposed action to repeal the 2015 definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Today’s proposal specifically requests comment on the legal basis of the 2015 WOTUS rule, which the agencies believe has led to uncertainty and confusion across the country.

“By issuing today’s supplemental proposal, we are responding to public feedback, expanding opportunities for comment, and providing clarity and transparency in the rulemaking process,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “We are making it clear that we are proposing to permanently and completely repeal the 2015 WOTUS rule and keep the pre-2015 regulatory framework in place as we work on a new, improved WOTUS definition.”

During last summer’s public comment period, the EPA and the Army heard from hundreds of thousands of stakeholders about the proposal to repeal the 2015 definition of WOTUS. After reviewing this input, the EPA and the Army are issuing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to clarify that the agencies are proposing to permanently repeal the 2015 rule in its entirety. As part of the initial proposal, the EPA and the Army indicated their intent to recodify the pre-2015 regulations—a longstanding regulatory framework that is currently being administered by the agencies—to keep them in place until the agencies finalize a new definition of WOTUS.

The agencies are also issuing the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to give the public an opportunity to comment on additional considerations that support the agencies’ proposed repeal, some of which the agencies did not discuss in detail in the initial proposal.

“This supplemental proposal reflects our continued commitment to common sense in the rulemaking process,” said R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

The agencies are continuing to review the comments received on the July 2017 proposal and will be accepting public comment on the supplemental proposal for 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. Commenters do not need to resubmit comments already provided to the agencies in response to the July 2017 proposal.

The Environmental Protection Agency released a Supplemental Notice on repeal of the 2015 WOTUS Rule. American Farm Bureau Federation General Counsel Ellen Steen says,

“We are closely analyzing the supplemental notice on repeal of the 2015 WOTUS Rule that the EPA issued today. The issuance of this additional notice shows that EPA listened to public comments that showed confusion over what was being proposed and why. This supplemental notice will provide a more meaningful opportunity for public comment by clarifying that EPA’s proposal is to permanently repeal the 2015 WOTUS rule because that rule was illegal in multiple respects. AFBF looks forward to providing further comments in support of the repeal of this unlawful and unconstitutional regulation.”

Ag Calendar

North Dakota State University Extension has teamed up with South Dakota State University, SDSU Extension and regional partners to host the North American Manure Expo, which will be Aug. 15-16 at the Swiftel Center in[...]

The Nebraska Corn Board will hold its next meeting Wednesday, August 15 and Thursday, August 16, 2018 at Bayside located at 865 Lakeview West Rd, Brule, Nebraska. The Board will conduct regular board business and[...]

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has scheduled two workshops, focused on women landowners, to provide opportunities to discuss drainage issues that exist on their farmland. Excessive rains typically create drowned out spots in fields,[...]

Farmers and Ranchers are invited to attend a FREE clinic. The clinics are one-on-one, confidential farm finance and ag law consultations being conducted across the state each month. An experienced ag law attorney and ag[...]

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host multiple farmland leasing meetings during July and August at various times and locations throughout Iowa. The annual meetings are offered to address questions that land owners, tenants[...]